Tennis
2026-06-03 - Felix Auger Aliassime vs Flavio Cobolli
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : French Open Quarter Final
Wednesday 3rd June 2026 - Scheduled 3pm
2pm (British Time)
Preview
The run to the Quarter Final here in Paris means Felix Auger Aliassime has reached the last eight or better at every Grand Slam event on the Tour, while he is going to end this tournament at a new career high World Ranking.
The early elimination suffered by Jannik Sinner has opened up this top half of the draw and Felix Auger Aliassime is the highest Ranked player in the section, which will have built up some pressure on the 25 year old. He has been handling it as well as he can and Felix Auger Aliassime will be grateful for a straightforward Fourth Round win, which will mean he has been given time for recovery and preparation ahead of this Quarter Final.
Like many in the Men's tournament, there have been some taxing matches during the run to the last eight, but that Fourth Round win in a little over two hours came at an ideal time for Felix Auger Aliassime.
Two Fourth Round defeats and four First Round defeats had been the previous record at the Frenhc Open, but Felix Auger Aliassime has used the serve to build up pressure on opponents. The draw has also opened up for him, which means only one Seeded player has been beaten to reach the Quarter Final, while the form in the build up tournaments had been nothing to write home about.
Felix Auger Aliassime is very reliant on strong serving to build up pressure and he has to be credited for what looks to be an improving shot as the wins have racked up here in Paris. Conditions were much different in the first week, but Auger Aliassime will take real encouragement from his performance in the Fourth Round, while stronger serving has opened up opportunities on the return.
Experience is most certainly on the side of Felix Auger Aliassime who is playing in his fifth Grand Slam Quarter Final and who reached the US Open Semi Final last September.
However, Flavio Cobolli has continued to grow on the Tour and he is very close to cracking the top 10 of the World Rankings for the first time, while he is the player in the top half of the bracket who has made the most comfortable of progress to this stage of the French Open.
The World Number 14 had won the opening three matches in straight sets and should have done the same in the Fourth Round before losing concentration.
Still, Flavio Cobolli has spent around four hours fewer hours on the court compared with his opponent on the way to the Quarter Final and that accumulated fatigue, or lack of, can make a difference when we get to this Round of a Grand Slam.
Flavio Cobolli will be like many from Italy in being very comfortable on the clay courts and his overall tennis has looked to be in very good shape at the French Open. He has benefited from a kind draw and one that has looked kinder than the one that Felix Auger Aliassime has navigated, but credit has to be given to Cobolli for getting through the matches as would be expected.
Like his opponent, Flavio Cobolli will sense there is a big opportunity for him in the top half of the Men;'s draw and the 'x factor' here is how the Italian can handle the emotions and the sense of occasion.
He can take a huge amount of confidence from the fact that Flavio Cobolli has two wins over Felix Auger Aliassime on the Tour and both on the hard courts that should favour the latter. One of those was in Canada in 2024 and both of those wins have been at a time when Felix Auger Aliassime was the higher Ranked player, as he will be on Wednesday.
The overall clay court numbers, the potential of being the fresher player and the head to head are the slight edges in favour of Flavio Cobolli and he can win this match if he is not overawed in just his second Grand Slam Quarter Final.
Prediction
The winner of this Quarter Final will be the favourite when they take to the court for the Semi Final on Friday, but both Felix Auger Aliassime and Flavio Cobolli have to keep emotions in check.
A big opportunity has come up in the French Open and the feeling is that the lower Seed, Flavio Cobolli, may just come out on top when placing his clay court form alongside the head to head record.
The Pick :
Felix Auger Aliassime 1-3 Flavio Cobolli
